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Synthesis of size and functional-group tunable dansyl-appended fluorescent macrocycles MC-n, MC-h, MC-p, MC-c, MC-mx, and MC-pxusing click reaction is reported. Macrocycles were extensively characterized by using various spectroscopic and theoretical techniques. Fluorescent macrocycles showed positive-solvatofluorism, high quantum yields, and strong interactions with nitroaromatic-explosives. Sensing in real water-sample, soil and vapor phase revealed that MC-pexhibits selective detection of picric acid containing three nitro-groups when compared to other nitroaromatics and structurally similar aromatics. Paper-strip based sensor was developed for real-time detection.

The research on metal oxide bio‐nanocomposites for sustainable food packaging has witnessed significant advancements, offering a promising alternative to traditional food packaging materials. This review briefly describes their fabrication techniques, applications, superiority over conventional packaging, challenges, limitations, and potential trends. These new materials are derived by incorporating metal oxide nanoparticles into the biopolymers and show better properties, such as better antimicrobial properties, which are vital in food packaging. The advantages of using metal oxide bio‐nanocomposites over typical food packaging films include enhanced mechanical properties, better moisture and oxygen resistance, bacterial resistance, and light protection. These versatile materials not only serve the purpose of properly preserving the quality and possibly even the wholesomeness of packed food products, but they are also environmentally friendly. Moreover, the review presents current developments and areas of use of metal oxide bio‐nanocomposites in food packaging and it also proposes future developments to meet the modern challenge of the food industry in the development of advanced packaging technologies. This review briefly describes their fabrication techniques, applications, superiority over conventional packaging, challenges, limitations, and potential trends.

Graphical Abstract:

When comparing outcomes after sepsis, it is essential to account for patient case mix to make fair comparisons. We developed a model to assess risk-adjusted 30-day mortality in the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety sepsis initiative (HMS-Sepsis).

The article discusses India's Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi's controversial views on Israel's use of booby-trap weapons in Lebanon, which he described as a "masterstroke." The attacks in Lebanon involved detonating pagers and handheld devices, resulting in casualties and injuries. The General's statements praising Israel's methods have raised concerns about India's stance on booby-trap weapons and the need for clarification from the Government of India. The article also highlights the potential adverse consequences of using mass-consumed electronic gadgets for terrorist activities. [Extracted from the article]

To maintain ideal working conditions by removing heat, a particular technique must be applied. This research examines how nanofluids affect computer cooling microchannel heating devices. The experiment's working fluids are 25% Therminol-55 and 75% sprinkling water. The mixture contains silicon carbide (SiC), titanium oxide (TiO2), and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. It includes 0.25% to 1.5% nanoparticles and flows at 0.025 to 0.080 kg/s at 25°C to 40°C. Central processing unit temperature, heat transfer rate, pressure losses, and pumping power have been examined. SiC-THERMINOL/SPRINKLING WATER at 1.5% concentration and 0.080 kg/s had a 9% lower temperature and 31% larger heat transfer coefficient than the base fluid. SiC-TL/SW has the highest pressure decrease and pumping force power compared to TiO2-TL/SW. Because nanofluid beats basic fluid in computer cooling, a little increase in pumping force power and pressure reduction may be tolerated.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been well explored as a highly effective characterization technique that is capable of chemical pollutant detection and identification at very low concentrations. Machine learning has been previously used to identify compounds based on SERS spectral data. However, utilization of SERS to quantify concentrations, with or without machine learning, has been difficult due to the spectral intensity being sensitive to confounding factors such as the substrate parameters, orientation of the analyte, and sample preparation technique. Here, we demonstrate an approach for predicting the concentration of sample pollutants from SERS spectra using machine learning. Frequency domain transform methods, including the Fourier and Walsh–Hadamard transforms, are applied to spectral data sets of three analytes (rhodamine 6G, chlorpyrifos, and triclosan), which are then used to train machine learning algorithms. Using standard machine learning models, the concentration of the sample pollutants is predicted with >80% cross-validation accuracy from raw SERS data. A cross-validation accuracy of 85% was achieved using deep learning for a moderately sized data set (∼100 spectra), and 70–80% was achieved for small data sets (∼50 spectra). Performance can be maintained within this range even when combining various sample preparation techniques and environmental media interference. Additionally, as a spectral pretreatment, the Fourier and Hadamard transforms are shown to consistently improve prediction accuracy across multiple data sets. Finally, standard models were shown to accurately identify characteristic peaks of compounds via analysis of their importance scores, further verifying their predictive value.

The Internet of Things (IoT) speaks to the current and future state of the Internet. Numerous things (objects) related to the Internet generate a large amount of information that requires a ton of labor and prepare tasks to move to valuable data. In addition, for the association and control of this enormous information, the original ideas in the project and the executives of the IoT system need to expedite and improve its presentation. A software-defined networking (SDN) system is another worldview that has recently emerged to cover all the complexities in the traditional system architecture by summarizing all the controls and management functions from the basic devices (things in IoT). The open-flow protocol is used to make messages between switches and controllers. It is a correspondence conference, through which the controller integrates the path of the network pocket with switches. Therefore, data packets should be directed to the optimum path to improve system operation. The best or optimal path for packet routing in the SDN data plane is found using the Lion Optimization Algorithm (LOA), which is proposed in this study. Response times and packet loss rates can both be decreased by choosing the best route between the hosts. The suggested LOA outperforms current optimal path detection methods in terms of performance, delay, packet delivery rate, performance, and pocket loss rate, according to simulation findings.

Abstract: Incorporating nano phase change materials (NPCMs) into the basin material helps improve the productivity and the evaporation rate in a solar still. Setting heat extraction rate as a standard, a comparative study was made with the yield of a single basin solar still by a phase change material (PCM) and NPCM. To counteract the low thermal conductivity of paraffin wax, metallic nanoparticles of cobalt oxide (CoO) were added. These CoO nanoparticles were found to be attractive for mixing with PCM to increase thermal conductivity. The impact of heat flux, flow rate and metal oxide particles on the flow and heat transfer behaviour of slurries was investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed the predominant peak (200) of CoO at 42.3°, with an average CoO nanoparticle size of 6 nm. The FESEM analysis revealed homogeneously aggregated spherical/platelet-shaped CoO nanoparticles ranging within 5–30 nm in size. Solar radiation increases linearly with time, reaching its maximum between 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. The use of NPCM increases the efficiency (12–25%) of the basin material due to its thermal properties and also the water output with an average yield rate of 3.5 L. Finally, the results indicate that the incorporation of CoO nanoparticles into paraffin wax increases the performance of the solar still and improves the water quality parameters.

Background: The role of bisphosphonates (BP) in hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HPOA) is unclear. We presented a case of primary HPOA and performed a systematic review of literature on the effect of BP on treatment response in primary and secondary HPOA. Methods: The study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022343786). We performed a PubMed literature search that restricted to the English language. We included patients diagnosed with primary or secondary HPOA who received BP. The primary endpoint assessed was the effectiveness of BP on response to pain or arthritis. Secondary outcomes included timing, degree, and duration of response, comparison to other HPOA therapies, impact of BP on radiology, bone scan, bone turnover markers, and adverse effects of BP. Results: Literature search retrieved only case reports. Forty-five patients (21 primary, 24 secondary HPOA) had received BP. Majority(88.3%) experienced improvement in pain or arthritis. Response was gradual for primary HPOA and within a median of 3 to 7 days for secondary HPOA after treatment with BP. Most patients had reduced bone scan uptake after BP. When other HPOA therapies were tried, half responded to BP after not having previously responded to other therapies, while a third received the treatments concurrently, making it difficult to attribute treatment response to a drug. Reporting of other secondary outcomes was very heterogenous and qualitative to draw conclusions. No major adverse effects have been reported for BP in HPOA. Conclusion: Bisphosphonates provide an effective and safe treatment option for primary and secondary HPOA. However, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials.

Binary and ternary photocatalyst semiconductors are promising materials for enhancing photocatalytic activity. In this present work, a dual Z-scheme ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4ternary composite was synthesized through a shallow chemical precipitation technique with aid of cety-ltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB). The as-synthesized photocatalyst was characterized by multiple analytical techniques. The ternary composite morphology consequences indicated the 3D Zn2SnO4nanobolt and ZnO spherical nanoparticles were amusingly dispersed on the exterior of SnO2nanorods. Furthermore, the average diameter of the nanobolt at 120 ± 15 nm and the diameter of the nanobolt hole 80 ± 10 nm was predicted. Compared with the individual ZnO, SnO2,and binary composites ZnO-ZnSnO3, ZnO-SnO2,the ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4ternary composites have a very active surface with variegated morphology. The photodegradation efficiency of the synthesized catalyst was assessed against MB dye under visible light irradiation. The ternary composite MB dye degradation rate was approximately 9.5, 3.5, 3 and 1.5 times faster than that of individual and binary composites. The Construction of the dual Z- scheme ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4ternary composite was established and the mechanism of e-/h+separation was elucidated. The unique 3D Zn2SnO4nanobolt could simultaneously promote photocarrier transport and suppress charge recombination through the uniquely coupled ZnO-SnO2nanocomposite interface. Meantime, the ternary photocatalysis still maintains a tremendous photodegradation rate (94.03–90.01) for the MB dye aqueous solution after four successive recycles. After the fourth cycle, the photocatalyst possessed robust stability and reusability. Finally, the ternary photocatalyst elucidated its potential application for the degradation of emerging pollutants for wastewater decontamination.

Purpose: Near-fault pulse-like ground motions have distinct and very severe effects on reinforced concrete (RC) structures. However, there is a paucity of recorded data from Near-Fault Ground Motions (NFGMs), and thus forecasting the dynamic seismic response of structures, using conventional techniques, under such intense ground motions has remained a challenge. Design/methodology/approach: The present study utilizes a 2D finite element model of an RC structure subjected to near-fault pulse-like ground motions with a focus on the storey drift ratio (SDR) as the key demand parameter. Five machine learning classifiers (MLCs), namely decision tree, k-nearest neighbor, random forest, support vector machine and Naïve Bayes classifier , were evaluated to classify the damage states of the RC structure. Findings: The results such as confusion matrix, accuracy and mean square error indicate that the Naïve Bayes classifier model outperforms other MLCs with 80.0% accuracy. Furthermore, three MLC models with accuracy greater than 75% were trained using a voting classifier to enhance the performance score of the models. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the model's resilience and dependability. Originality/value: The objective of the current study is to predict the nonlinear storey drift demand for low-rise RC structures using machine learning techniques, instead of labor-intensive nonlinear dynamic analysis.

Many patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease do not respond to available therapies or lose response over time. The GALAXI-1 study previously found that three intravenous guselkumab dosages showed superior clinical and endoscopic outcomes over placebo at week 12 in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. We report the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous guselkumab maintenance regimens to week 48 in the GALAXI-1 study.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a vital staple crop, faces mounting challenges in ensuring global food security. This study aimed to develop solid stemmed wheat varieties fortified with multiple disease-resistance genes to combat disease and lodging challenges. Solid stem trait from select donors was transferred into contemporary Indian bread wheat cultivars. Additionally, through marker assisted backcrossing (MABC) techniques, resistant genes targeting leaf, stem, yellow rust, and powdery mildew were also incorporated into those backgrounds. Molecular markers confirmed the presence of solid stem and targeted resistance genes, ensuring the reliability of newly developed lines. These lines were assessed for solid stem characteristics to evaluate their performance across diverse regions. Field assessments conducted for disease screening in Wellington identified wheat varieties that exhibit resistance to both rusts and powdery mildew. Phenotypic screening for lodging and thermo tolerance highlighted the resilience of wheat lines with solid pith, emphasizing their potential role in mitigating climate change impacts. The study underscores the efficacy of backcross breeding and molecular tools in developing lodging resistant and thermo tolerant wheat varieties with enhanced rust-resistance, contributing to sustainable wheat production systems.

Bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation (BCSD) for refractory life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias is a neuromodulatory intervention targeting sympathetically driven focal or re-entrant ventricular arrhythmias.

Digital fabrication techniques, in recent decades, have provided the basis of a sustainable revolution in the construction industry. However, selecting the digital fabrication method in terms of manufacturability and functionality requirements is a complex problem. This paper presents alternatives and criteria for selection of digital fabrication techniques by adopting the multi-criteria decision-making technique. The alternatives considered in the study are concrete three-dimensional (3D) printing, shotcrete, smart dynamic casting, material intrusion, mesh molding, injection concrete 3D printing, and thin forming techniques. The criteria include formwork utilization, reinforcement incorporation, geometrical complexity, material enhancement, assembly complexity, surface finish, and build area. It demonstrates different multi-criteria decision-making techniques, with both subjective and objective weighting methods. The given ranking is based on the current condition of digital fabrication in the construction industry. The study reveals that in the selection of digital fabrication techniques, the criteria including reinforcement incorporation, build area, and geometrical complexity play a pivotal role, collectively accounting for nearly 70% of the overall weighting. Among the evaluated techniques, concrete 3D printing emerged as the best performer, however the shotcrete and mesh molding techniques in the second and third positions.

Vehicular Ad-hoc networks (VANET) enhance traffic efficiency and safety through wireless broadcasting of traffic-related messages. Secure communication, mutual authentication, privacy, and non-repudiation are, arguably, the most essential security requirements of vehicles in a VANET. To meet those security goals of VANET, we develop an efficient and secure communication protocol (SL-PPCP). The signcryption cryptographic primitive and the random oracle model are at the heart of the protocol, which accomplishes the requirement of public-key encryption and signature at a relatively low cost. For computation efficiency of the protocol, we design a systematic Offline/Online signcryption scheme with provable security. The scheme runs in two phases, namely, online and offline. The workload of the online phase is reduced by performing the costly operations, namely exponent, pairing and inversion, in the offline phase without knowledge of the message. The scheme proposed ensures existential unforgeability under a Chosen Message Attack, indistinguishability under an adaptive Chosen cipher-text attack, and insider security. For instance, the experimental results show that the computational time reduces approximately to 20.96%, 48.33%, 50.28% and 12.52% than of HOOSC, IP-HSC, MOHSC and LPPTE schemes respectively while performing the signcryption and unsigncryption of a single plaintext. Furthermore, the computational time for multiple ciphertext unsigncryption reduces significantly.

Introduction: To retrieve, and classify PCa miRNAs and identify the functional relationship between miRNAs and their targets through literature collection with computational analysis.Background: MicroRNAs play a role in gene regulation, which can either repress or activate the gene. Hence, the functions of miRNAs are dependent on the target gene. This study will be the first of its kind to combine computational analysis with corpus PCa data. Effectively, our study reported the huge number of miRNAs associated with PCa along with functional information.Objective: The identification and classification of previously known full PCa miRNAs and their targets were made possible by mining the literature data. Systems Biology and curated data mining assisted in identifying optimum miRNAs and their target genes for PCa therapy.Methods: PubMed database was used to collect the PCa literature up to December 2021. Pubmed. mineR package was used to extract the microRNAs associated articles and manual curation was performed to classify the microRNAs based on the function in PCa. PPI was constructed using the STRING database. Pathway analysis was performed using PANTHER and ToppGene Suite Software. Functional analysis was performed using ShinyGO software. Cluster analysis was performed using MCODE 2.0, and Hub gene analysis was performed using cytoHubba. The genemiRNA network was reconstructed using Cytoscape.Results: Unique PCa miRNAs were retrieved and classified from mined PCa literature. Six hundred and five unique miRNAs from 250 articles were considered as oncomiRs to trigger PCa. One hundred and twenty unique miRNAs from 118 articles were considered Tumor Suppressor miRNAs to suppress the PCa. Twenty-four unique miRNAs from 22 articles were utilized as treatment miRNAs to treat PCa. miRNAs target genes and their significant pathways, functions and hub genes were identified.Conclusion: miR-27a, miR-34b, miR-495, miR-23b, miR-100, miR-218, Let-7a family, miR-27a- 5p, miR-34c, miR-34a, miR-143/-145, miR-125b, miR-124 and miR-205 with their target genes AKT1, SRC, CTNNB1, HRAS, MYC and TP53 are significant PCa targets.

Background: Microgrids conquer a significant role in the evolution of distributed and modern grids from the traditional electricity system. However, microgrids with renewable energy sources connected to them often incur grid instability issues, due to the intermittent nature of these sources. Objective: This work aims to study Microgrids with Electric vehicles as a backup energy source and maintain the system’s frequency that can overcome this issue. Methods: This paper uses an autonomous control algorithm in an islanded ac microgrid to regulate the active power depending on the irradiation and load scenarios, thereby maintaining the system frequency and stability. The controller also keeps track of the battery's charge level, keeping it from overcharging or over-discharging conditions. The PI (Proportional Integral) and Fractional Order Proportional Integral (FOPI) controllers were compared, with the best controller utilized for system simulations. Results: Simulations are presented with MATLAB/Simulink for an Islanded Photo Voltaic AC microgrid system with the electric vehicle's battery connected to it as a source of backup energy. The system's effect is exhibited under varied irradiations and load levels, and the findings demonstrate the control algorithm's adaptability. Conclusion: This work attempts to discover the capability of the control technique to maintaining the stability of an AC islanded microgrid system under diverse irradiation and load situations, thereby maintaining the system's frequency and the State of Charge (SoC) of the battery of an electric vehicle under specified levels.

A multilevel inverter (MLI) is an ingenious technology in generating a sinusoidal output voltage for AC applications. Higher output voltage levels improve the waveform quality but render increased size and power loss due to higher component count. In this paper, a new MLI topology with reduced device count is proposed which generates different numbers of output voltage levels according to the source management without altering the proposed circuit configuration. This MLI consists of ten semiconductor switches and two isolated DC sources. The asymmetric source management of 1:3 generates seventeen levels in the output voltage waveform and nine levels with symmetric (1:1) and thirteen levels with binary-asymmetric (1:2) source selection. This work projects the application of the proposed 17-level MLI in a constant power standalone solar energy conversion system. Minimum switching transitions and fundamental-voltage-reference-based switching angle calculation are adopted to achieve sinusoidal output voltage with least switching loss. As compared with the established 17-level MLI topologies, the proposed configuration has a lower component count level (CCL), lesser total blocking voltage (TBV), lesser THD, low switching frequency, no electromagnetic interference, more efficient, and cost-effective. This manuscript incorporates the design, simulation, and experimental validation of the proposed system for different PV input and load conditions.

In the analysis of magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) flow, the induced magnetic field (i.m.f) is of critical concern owing to its diverse applications in technological and scientific phenomena such as MRI, glass manufacturing, geophysics, and MHD generators, magneto-hydrodynamic pumps, magneto-hydrodynamic generators, blood flow, etc. The configuration of fluid flow is impacted by the i.m.f, also it is essential to more precisely regulate the rate of flow nature. With this motivation, the present article is focused on the exploration of boundary layer flow behaviour and heat transfer characteristics in a viscous and conducting fluid moving over a stretching surface susceptible to heat radiation and i.m.f effects. Transformation variables are employed in order to translate the PDEs into non-linear ODEs. The BVP4C strategy is implemented to compute computational outcomes of a non-linear system. Consequences of the existing physical model are shown in tabular and graphical form. Some of the key findings are as the induced magnetic field intensifies for augmented values of magnetic parameter and vice-versa for the reciprocal magnetic field parameter. Temperature is accelerated by radiation parameter and reciprocal magnetic field. Moreover, a noteworthy verification between published data and the present outcomes in special cases. It perceived that our outcomes are in perfect harmony.

A computational study has been done to understand the effect of leading-edge wall cooling on shock wave–boundary layer interaction. Shock wave–boundary layer interaction is studied over a forward-facing step at supersonic Mach 2.5. The study was carried out using Ansys. The work aims to explore the implementation of wall cooling at the leading edge as a separation control strategy for supersonic forward-facing step-induced flow separation. We use a finite-volume method based on upwind flux difference splitting and second-order upwind flow discretization. The simulation results are validated with the available experimental data. Furthermore, using numerical simulations, we found that the separation bubble size was reduced by 18.36% when the walls were marginally cooled to 150 K, while the separation was reduced by 32.65% when the walls were strongly cooled to 100 K.

Purpose: The objectives were to study the effect of a single dose of intravenous (IV) zoledronic acid (ZA) on changes in bone mineral density (BMD) (lumbar spine (LS), hip, & distal forearm), trabecular bone score (TBS) and bone turnover markers (BTMs) in postmenopausal osteoporotic women with and without diabetes over 12 months. Methods: Patients were divided into two groups: type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (n= 40) and non-DM (n= 40). Both groups received a single dose of 4 mg IV ZA at baseline. The BMD with TBS and BTMs (β-CTX, sclerostin, P1NP) were measured at baseline, six months, and 12 months. Results: At baseline, BMD in all three sites was similar in both groups. T2DM patients were older and had lower BTMs than non-DM patients. The mean increase in LS-BMD (gram/cm2) at 12 months in T2DM and the non-DM group was 3.6 ± 4.7% and 6.2 ± 4.7 %, respectively (P= 0.01). However, the age adjusted mean difference in LS BMD increment between two groups at one year was − 2.86 % (−5.02% to −0.69%), P= 0.01. There was a comparable change in BMD at other two sites, BTMs, and TBS in both the groups over one year follow-up. Conclusion: The gain in the LS-BMD was significantly lower in T2DM group compared to non-DM subjects over 12 months after a single IV infusion of 4 mg ZA. The explanation for this could be low bone turnover in diabetes subjects at baseline.

Background: Multiple pregnancies have increased with the use of assisted reproduction, and we expect more women reporting with Rh isoimmunization among multiple gestation in near future. Intrauterine transfusion in singleton itself is technically difficult and requires a lot of skill and precision. Performing double/triple transfusion in twins/triplets is expected to be more demanding. Aim: To create awareness on the technical difficulties encountered in intrauterine transfusion in twins and triplets. Methodology: We report a case series of four Rh-isoimmunized twins/triplets in 5 years who presented with severe anemia requiring intrauterine transfusion. Results: Each of the four sets of cases had their own intricacies that needed to be pondered before tackling them as not much was available in the literature. In Case 1, the first twin intrauterine transfusion in our 20-year-long experience, the difficulty in the approach to the first twin due to a posteriorly placed placenta has been highlighted. Case 2 was rare due to the concomitant presence of atypical antibodies in the mother in addition to Rh-D isoimmunization that made it difficult to cross match any donor blood for intrauterine transfusion. The third case was exclusive due to its monochorionic–diamniotic nature of the twins where the impact of inter-twin anastomosis on the transfusion was to be taken into consideration. Fourth case was a triplet gestation where the difficulty of which cord to be assigned to which fetus, the crowded space for intervention, as well as the risk of prolonged operative time and associated risk of preterm/premature rupture of membranes were our concern. Conclusion: Intrauterine transfusion (IUT) in twins/triplets is challenging. Difficulties encountered during IUT in multifetal gestation are due to different or uncertain chorionicity, intraplacental anastomosis between vessels, different degree of anemia in twins, difficult to ascertain cord–fetus relationship and difficulty to reach placental insertion site due to crowding by multiple fetal parts.

Making use of low-cost zeolite adsorbents for CO2adsorption is an encouraging technique for the adsorption of the CO2gas emitted from flue gases. In the present work, the zeolites were successfully synthesized from kaolin by the conversion of metakaolin and also by using 2.5 and 3 M of NaOH. The transformation of kaolin into metakaolin was achieved through a thermal treating process for 4 h at various temperatures such as 600, 700, 800, and 900 °C. The molar ratio used for the synthesis was XNa2O:Al2O3:1.926 SiO2:128 H2O (where X= 2.5 and 3 M of NaOH). The 2.5 and 3 A (600–900 °C) zeolite was synthesized through the hydrothermal process without using any organic template agent. The “sugar cube” and octahedral-shaped morphology are observed through FESEM and TEM analysis. The textural properties of the synthesized samples were found using N2adsorption/desorption studies. The type IV and type I adsorptions were identified from the sorption studies. However, the CO2sorption studies are recorded at 297.15 K, and the type I adsorption isotherms were observed according to the IUPAC classification criterion. The experimentally observed data were fitted by nonlinear regression curve fit using a Langmuir, Freundlich, and Toth adsorption isotherm, and their parameters were recorded.

Objectives.Hospitals provide direct and indirect employment benefits to medical professionals. Accidents in hospitals often lead to disastrous consequences such as fatalities, property damage and economic losses. It is, therefore, imperative to have an occupational health and safety (OHS) policy that aims to reduce work-related accidents to acceptable levels. This study aims to investigate health risks to staff from various hazards and suggest control measures to prevent recurrence of accidents. Methods. A two-stage fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach incorporating the fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (FAHP) and fuzzy technique for order preference for similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was applied to assess the hazards in a leading multi-speciality hospital in Chennai. Results. The top three hazards identified in the workplace were electrical hazards, faulty medical equipment, and ventilation and air conditioning hazards. Subsequently, control measures were suggested to reduce the recurrence of hazards. Finally, a survey of hospital accidents occurring in India between 2010 and 2020 was conducted and compared with the results of this study. Conclusions. The survey findings show similarity to the hazard rankings obtained in this work, thus validating the methodology used for the assessment of hazards in hospitals. Electrical hazards and faulty medical equipment should be monitored.

AbstractFusarium oxysporumf. sp. lycopersiciis a devastating plant pathogenic fungi known for wilt disease in the tomato plant and secrete cell wall degrading enzymes. These enzymes are collectively known as carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), crucial for growth, colonization and pathogenesis. Therefore, the present study was aimed to identify and annotate pathogen CAZymes in the xylem sap of a susceptible tomato variety using downstream proteomics and meta servers. Further, structural elucidation and conformational stability analysis of the selected CAZyme families were done through homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation. Among all the fungal proteins identified, the carbohydrate metabolic process was found to be enriched. Most of the annotated CAZymes belonged to the hydrolase and oxidoreductase families, and 90% were soluble and extracellular. Moreover, using a publically available interactome database, interactions were observed between the families acting on chitin, hemicellulose and pectin. Subsequently, important catalytic residues were identified in the candidate CAZymes belonging to carbohydrate esterase (CE8) and glycosyl hydrolase (GH18 and GH28). Further, essential dynamics after molecular simulation of 100 ns revealed the overall behavior of these CAZymes with distinct global minima and transition states in CE8. Thus, our study identified some of the CAZyme families that assist in pathogenesis and growth through host cell wall deconstruction with further structural insight into the selected CAZyme families.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

One of the most challenging aspects of providing end-stage kidney disease care is to achieve adequate long-term access to the bloodstream to support hemodialysis (HD) therapy. Although upper extremity arteriovenous fistula remains the vascular access of choice for patients on HD, complications such as central venous stenosis, access thrombosis, or exhaustion of suitable access sites in the upper extremity, ultimately result in pursuing vascular access creation in the lower extremity. The current review focuses on the indications, contraindications, and clinically relevant practical procedural tips to successfully place a tunneled femoral dialysis catheter. The review highlights some of the prevailing misconceptions regarding femoral catheter placement practices.

Purpose: The objective of the study is to examine the response of reinforced concrete (RC) structures subjected to Near-Fault Ground Motions (NFGM) and highlight the importance of considering various factors including the influence of the relative geographical position of near-fault sites that can affect the structural response during an earthquake. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the response of a four-storey RC building subjected to NFGMs with varied characteristics like hanging wall and footwall in conjunction with directivity and the effect of pulse-like ground motions with rupture direction are investigated to understand the combined influence of these factors on the behavior of the structure. Furthermore, the capacity and demand of the structural element are investigated for computing the performance ratio. Findings: Results from this study indicate that the most unfavorable combinations for structural damage due to near-fault ground motion are the hanging wall with forward rupture, the fault normal component of ground motions, and pulse-like ground motions with forward directivity. Originality/value: The results from this study provide valuable insight into the response of RC structures subjected to NFGM and highlight the importance of considering various factors that can affect the structural response during an earthquake. Moreover, the computation of capacity and demand of the critical beam indicates exceedance of desired limits, resulting in the early deterioration of the structural elements. Finally, the analytical analysis from the present study confirms that the hanging wall with forward ruptures, pulse-like motions, and fling steps are the most unfavorable combinations for seismic structural damage.

Commercially available 4H-SiC substrate quality has improved over time, and this has extensively reduced defect concentration in the active epitaxial layer, during epi growth conditions at the interface. The objective of this work is to investigate bulk crystal quality for the purpose of future vertical power device fabrication in exfoliated, non-epitaxial, undoped material layers. Mathematical estimations on the device yield fraction, that is immune to bipolar degradation for the suggested future process were calculated based on XRT measurements to detect BPD and TSD densities on donor substrates. The full wafer BPD density maps of on-axis semi-insulating wafer substrates from two vendors were compared.

Beverages are the leading source of sugar in children's diets and a modifiable risk factor for adverse health conditions. Electronic health record–based screeners could facilitate health systems' efforts to reduce child consumption of sugary beverages. Before implementing a sugar-sweetened beverage screener in the electronic health record within academic healthcare system, 228 pediatric and family medicine clinic staff completed an online educational training to familiarize them with the screener and its rationale. Pretraining and posttraining surveys were used to examine the association between staff knowledge of sugar-sweetened beverages and the acceptability of the screening workflow. Respondents displayed high levels of pretraining knowledge about health consequences of added sugar intake, but lower levels of pediatric beverage guideline knowledge. Knowledge improved from pretraining to posttraining surveys, with high acceptability of the screening process. Staff compliance with sugar-sweetened beverage screening was examined using electronic health record data. During the 6 months after screener implementation, 47% of eligible pediatric patients were screened, with some variation in compliance by age group and practice type. This study demonstrated that engaging nursing and frontline staff to screen pediatric patients for behavioral determinants of health is feasible. Ongoing outreach and refreshers may improve sustainability.